Even After Transmigrating into Coiling Dragon, Who Would Still Eat Soft Rice

Simon sighed, having lost all interest in the spoils.

Actually, this was normal; after all, they were in a Material Plane where good items were scarce. Furthermore, John's strength was extremely mediocre for a Lowgod. He hadn't even managed to touch the hem of Simon's clothes throughout the entire battle, so it was no surprise he was poor.

Although John's Spatial Ring didn't contain anything of value, he himself held significant worth. He was a Lowgod, after all; using his Godhead to help someone in the family reach the Lowgod realm would be a fine outcome. There was also the massive Thunder Dragon carcass he left behind, which was a rare and precious material.

Simon proceeded to peel off the entire set of dragon scales, intending to save them for later when he could find a master blacksmith to forge them into a suit of full-body armor. The reason divine artifact armor was so rare was that the material requirements were incredibly harsh, almost impossible to find in a Material Plane unless one was as lucky as Simon and possessed the strength to slay a god-level magical beast to obtain its bodily essence.

Although Simon's defensive power after activating his Ice Mist Battle Armor was comparable to a mid-level defensive divine artifact, he couldn't keep the armor activated at all times, as it consumed a massive amount of divine power and soul energy.

Therefore, forging a suit of divine artifact armor was necessary; it would be excellent for dealing with sneak attacks, and having an extra layer of defense was always a good thing.

With such a large set of dragon scales, which had been meticulously reinforced and nourished by John's divine power for thousands of years, Simon estimated he could forge at least several sets of top-tier armor. He would keep three sets for himself and leave the rest to the family to strengthen their foundation.

After skinning the Thunder Dragon, Simon extracted the dragon tendons and kept the toughest dragon bones, while he casually tore open space and tossed the remaining useless flesh inside.

The vast and boundless Spatial Turbulence had now become Simon's oversized "trash can."

"What a cruel world. The strong take all, and the weak lose everything."

Simon put away John's gifts, then pushed open the stone door and walked into his residence. The interior was elegantly furnished, showing that some thought had been put into it. Various trinkets were placed on the walls, but after a careful look, Simon realized they served no purpose other than decoration.

He then swept his Divine Sense across the area and discovered the cultivation chamber.

This chamber was located deep within the mountain. Upon entering, Simon found that the concentration of Heaven and Earth Elements was quite high, about seven or eight times that of the outside world—a good place for secluded cultivation.

A sweep of his Divine Sense revealed that, aside from a stone bed, the room was empty.

Chapter 16: Forging Armor

Exiting the cultivation chamber, Simon checked the place one last time. Finding that John was indeed a genuine pauper, he departed from the Lania Mountain Range.

This battle hadn't provided much in the way of practical combat experience for Simon; after all, aside from being bold and brainless, John's strength was truly average.

This made Simon increasingly certain that the level of god-level experts on the Rayast Continent was quite mediocre—one could even describe it as "chickens pecking at each other."

Or perhaps the level of god-level experts in the Material Plane was generally like this.

Truly brilliant and talented experts had long since jumped out of the comfort zone of the Material Plane and headed to the Supreme Plane, where the strong were limitless.

Once Simon finished exploring the Endless Sea and the Shadow Continent and broke through to the Midgod realm, he also planned to head to the Supreme Plane to welcome real challenges.

Simon continued westward, intending to try his luck at Loya City, the capital of the Loya Empire near the Endless Sea, to see if he could find a master blacksmith to forge his armor and then nurture it into a true defensive divine artifact.

The journey was uneventful, and it took Simon a few leisurely days to reach Loya City.

Covering the entire imperial capital with his Divine Sense, he indeed discovered the presence of a god-level expert.

Before arriving, Simon had speculated that the Loya Empire likely had a god-level expert guarding it, as it was an ancient empire with a comprehensive strength a notch above the Gale Empire. It had existed for over ten thousand years, a rarity among the ancient empires on the Rayast Continent.

"Which friend has come to visit?"

An aged voice echoed in Simon's mind.

"Greetings. My name is Simon Herbert, from the Gale Empire. I am passing through your territory and have come to pay a visit."

"So it is a friend from the Gale Empire. My name is Loya Damon. Welcome, welcome."

A flash of fire erupted, and Loya's figure appeared before Simon. After sizing him up, he spoke.

"What a young lad. You were the one who became a god a while ago, right?"

"That is indeed me. I apologize for the sudden intrusion, and I hope you will forgive me, Senior."

Simon said humbly; after all, they were both human, and since the other had been a god for over ten thousand years, Simon held him in high regard.

"Haha, no need for such formalities. Since you have come from afar, little brother Simon, come be a guest at my place and let me fulfill the duties of a host."

"Then I shall impose upon you, Senior."

Within the other party's imperial capital, Simon was not worried about the host suddenly turning hostile.

After some conversation, Simon learned that the old man with long, fire-red hair practiced the Law of Fire and was currently still a Lowgod.

However, based on Simon's observations, Loya was likely much stronger than John; the intensity of the aura he radiated was far beyond what John could compare to.

Simon then stated his purpose, hoping to find a master blacksmith with Loya's help.

To his surprise, Loya burst into laughter upon hearing this.

"What a coincidence. I was proficient in forging before I became a god. My own weapons and armor were all crafted by my own hands. Even now, when my hands get itchy, I often fire up the furnace to forge things just to keep my touch."

Simon was delighted to hear this, not expecting that Loya was actually a master of forging.

"That is truly wonderful. I have recently obtained some rare materials and hope that you, brother, could help me forge them into a divine artifact armor."

"Oh? Forging armor is no easy task, especially since divine artifact armor requires extraordinary materials. It is very difficult to gather them in the Material Plane. Are you prepared, little brother Simon?"

"Please take a look, brother."

Simon brought out the dragon scales he had just acquired.

Immediately, the scales, radiating a purple light, appeared before Loya.

"These dragon scales... and this aura, it feels quite familiar. Where did you obtain these, little brother Simon?"

"It is quite a coincidence. Not long ago, while I was passing through the Lania Mountain Range, someone named John attacked me. After a battle, he was no match for me and was slain, so I naturally obtained these scales."

"No wonder they looked familiar. I didn't expect that John, who had been rampant for thousands of years, was killed by you. Haha, well killed!"

Loya said happily, "This Thunder Dragon has harassed the borders of my Loya Empire quite a bit. I had originally planned to go slaughter him and take his scales to forge a suit of armor once I broke through to a Midgod, but I didn't expect Brother Simon to beat me to it."

"Haha, then consider it me doing a favor for Brother Loya by eliminating a major scourge. These dragon scales should be enough to forge several suits of armor. I'll gift you one when they're done as a forging fee. How does that sound, brother?"

"How could I be so bold? There are many who can forge armor, but dragon scales from a Thunder Dragon that has attained godhood are rare. How could I take advantage of you, brother?"

Though Loya said he was embarrassed, his eyes seemed glued to the dragon scales.

Simon had no choice but to continue persuading him.

"I didn't prepare any gifts coming from so far away, so the armor forged from these scales will serve as a meeting gift. Besides, forging armor is hard work, and I wouldn't trust anyone else. Who else has your craftsmanship, brother? If you refuse again, you're looking down on me."

Hearing this, Loya stopped being polite. He took the dragon scales and led Simon to his private forging room, an Underground Forge.

"There is a giant furnace here formed by a natural volcano, perfect for forging armor embryos. I won't take advantage of you, brother; I will add some of my own treasured materials during the forging process to strive for the most perfect armor."

"Then I will have to trouble you, brother."

After speaking, Loya threw a pile of ores into the furnace and professionally processed the entire set of dragon scales. Based on Loya's judgment, these scales, combined with his materials, could produce about five armor embryos.

This aligned with Simon's expectations. After gifting one to Loya, the remaining four would be just enough for his own distribution.

Three days later, the dragon scales were processed. Loya then fused the extracted mineral essence with the dragon scales and, through a series of professional techniques, finally finished forging the five suits of armor after several months.

Simon kept his promise and gave one to Loya. He then dripped his blood on the remaining armor to claim them, storing them within his body to nurture. Once they were truly nurtured into divine artifacts, Simon would leave one for his family, and the remaining three would be enough for his own use.

Loya looked at the armor in his hands happily.

"Haha, I never thought these dragon scales I've craved for thousands of years would be obtained so easily. The world is truly mysterious. Brother Simon, you have great means. John is easy to defeat but very hard to kill. Thunder Dragons are naturally skilled in speed, and since he cultivated the Laws of Lightning, he was even faster."

"I fought him several times and could injure him each time, but I could never kill him. I had intended to wait until I broke through to a Midgod and used my Godhead Domain to suppress him before taking his life, but now you've saved me a lot of effort."

"Haha, I also just happened to catch him off guard and succeeded in one strike. If he had reacted and run away, I wouldn't have been able to catch him either."

Simon said, half-truthfully.

"This Thunder Dragon is indeed hard to kill. Brother Simon, your strength is truly formidable."

Loya knew well that among Lowgods, unless there was a massive gap in strength, it was very difficult to fight to the death; after all, if one couldn't win, one could always run. He also knew that Simon wasn't telling the whole truth.

This was normal, and Loya wouldn't pry. After all, everyone had their own secrets.

Respecting others' secrets was a tacit understanding among the strong.

Afterward, Simon took the opportunity to ask Loya about many of the continent's secrets. What Simon cared about most was undoubtedly how many god-level powerhouses remained on the continent.

Chapter 17: First Arrival at the Endless Sea

Loya didn't keep this a secret, as Simon would eventually find out anyway. According to him, before Simon became a god, there were fewer than ten active god-level powerhouses in the entire plane, and no more than five on the Rayast Continent. Now that Simon had slaughtered one, only four of the old-guard god-level powerhouses remained.

However, adding in Simon's recent ascension and the fluctuations of the Laws of Heaven and Earth caused by another ascension, Loya estimated that there were at most six god-level powerhouses on the Rayast Continent now, and they were likely all Lowgods.

As for whether other old-guard Lowgods had used the teleportation arrays to head to the Supreme Plane, Loya wasn't sure, as he hadn't walked the continent in a long time.

Usually, it was only when an empire guarded by such a god-level powerhouse collapsed that the outside world would know the powerhouse had either fallen or left for another plane.

The most recent imperial change was over a thousand years ago when the Gale Empire overthrew the rule of the Robes Empire. In the few hundred years before the Gale Empire was established, the Laws of Heaven and Earth had descended twice. Loya speculated that the first time was likely the Robes Empire's founding powerhouse, Robes, breaking through to a Midgod and heading to the Supreme Plane, while the second time was Edward becoming a god, subsequently overthrowing the Robes Empire and establishing the current Gale Empire.

From Loya, Simon learned that long ago, the areas on the Rayast Continent suitable for human survival and reproduction had been carved up by human god-level powerhouses.

The great empires on the continent were guarded by god-level powerhouses, and the large magical beast mountain ranges were also guarded by god-level magical beasts. This had become a consensus on the continent: once you become a god, you are qualified to carve out your own sphere of influence.

Loya also suggested that Simon pick an area to establish his own empire and spread his own faith to accelerate his cultivation. Simon certainly knew that the power of faith was a good thing, but he was currently in a state of rapid progress in his cultivation. Spending a massive amount of energy to build an empire and spread faith to accelerate his cultivation wasn't actually cost-effective.

Moreover, Simon yearned for the superior cultivation environment and more intense competitive atmosphere of the Supreme Plane.

What Simon wanted now was to reach the Midgod level as quickly as possible, consolidate his strength, and then leave the Rayast Plane, so there was no need to establish an empire.

Furthermore, the three provinces currently owned by the Herbert Family were enough for them to thrive. As for whether the family patriarch or some elder would become a god later using John's godhead and have an interest in building an empire, that would be their own business.

Loya breathed a sigh of relief after knowing that Simon had no intention of reshuffling the continent's power structure. After all, someone who could kill John, who had been roaming free for thousands of years, couldn't be a pushover. He wouldn't underestimate someone just because they had only recently become a god; the last person who made that mistake had now become the armor in his hands.

Loya also understood the mindset of these geniuses who became gods after only a few decades of cultivation; he knew none of them were content with loneliness and all wanted to head to a bigger stage to hone themselves as soon as possible.

As for himself, he had spent over two thousand years languishing in the Saint Realm before becoming a god. Loya knew his own aptitude well; rather than going to the Supreme Plane to suffer, it was better to be a free spirit in the Material Plane.

As for the future, if he broke through to a Midgod and had enjoyed enough of the Rayast Plane, he might also go to the Supreme Plane, filled with endless slaughter, to see the world. After all, he had a dream of being a strong powerhouse in his heart; even if he couldn't become a peak powerhouse, witnessing the style of peak powerhouses was still possible.

Just like that, Loya and Simon chatted about many things, and both came to understand the other's thoughts.

Simon also respected Loya's choice; after all, the Supreme Plane was very cruel. Without sufficient strength, even Simon wouldn't head there rashly.

After the conversation, Simon felt that Loya was a friend worth making. The two officially addressed each other as brothers. Loya was much older and more experienced, so naturally, Simon addressed Loya as his elder brother.

Simon stayed with Loya for another half-month, experiencing the treatment of an earthly emperor. The many socialites and princesses in the empire were also extremely curious about this mysterious and handsome young man and vied to curry favor with him, but Simon was focused on cultivation and had to refuse them all.

"A comfortable life really does erode one's fighting spirit."

Simon said to Loya with emotion, "Thank you for your hospitality, brother. I must set off for the Endless Sea."

"Why not stay a while longer, brother? I still have many fun things I haven't introduced to you yet."

Loya said with a somewhat mischievous smile.

After spending time together, Simon discovered that this seemingly serious old man was actually someone who knew how to have fun. Having experienced the information explosion of his previous life, Simon couldn't help but marvel that Loya really knew how to live.